Parallel Thoughts 2017
by HelenTheMoon
Summary: The 2017 30 Day Arc-V Anniversary challenge from Tumblr! You know the drill. Days posted: 1, 4 and 20, 6, 13 and 19, 21, 27
1. Day 1: Happy 3-Year Anniversary!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V.**

**Author notes at the bottom.**

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**Day 1: Happy 3-Year Anniversary!**

It had been almost three years since he had been crowned King. Three years since the poor Commons child known as Jack Atlas crushed his predecessor and took the throne of the City. Three years since he became the undisputed strongest duelist of this City, and beyond.

But he wanted more. Deep in his gut, he _knew _that there was more out there. Strongest duelists to beat. This City had shown him all it had to offer, and he wanted _more_.

And he had a feeling that the third year of his reign was going to be a special one.

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It had been three years since Akaba Reiji first travelled to the Fusion Dimension, Three years since he learned the truth of his father's mysterious disappearance, and the truth behind the four dimensions. Three years since he met Serena.

Since then, all Reiji had done was prepare non-stop. He sharpened his skills, both in and out of the dueling field, collected as much data as possible, ran countless tests, and carefully worked towards culminating the duelists of the new generation into becoming warriors for the incoming battle.

And this year, he would finally see the fruit of his efforts.

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Three years ago, Sakaki Yuya's life changed forever. His father had disappeared into thin air, even though he had seen him that very morning.

It was the day the ground shattered beneath his feet, and the earth swallowed him whole. It was the day he lost the respect of all but him most precious friends. It was the day his home lost all its warmth. From that day onwards, his life was filled with sadness and mockery.

And today, as the cards he was holding transformed into his very hands and he lost all awareness except for that _presence_, his life would change once more.

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**Author note: The 2017 challenge! It took me FOREVER to find the prompts. I was NOT in the YGO fandom at the time, so I was only able to get them through a random fanfic a few days ago.**

**You know the drill by now! Thirty days, thirty prompts. Knowing me, I'll end up combining some, and who knows what I'll come up with!**

**I like what I did with this chapter. Three characters, three paragraphs each, pondering how their lives changed exactly three years ago.**

**Please review!**


	2. Day 4: Aftermath and Day 20: Beach

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V.**

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**Day 4: Aftermath + Day 20: Beach**

It had been a long time since they all went to the beach together, and the air was filled with excitement.

The boys may have chosen simple swim tracks for today, but Ruri and Sayaka put a lot more thought in their swimsuits. Eventually Sayaka chose a frilly two piece in soft pinks and greens that honestly looked really cute on her.

Ruri had a hard time deciding what she wanted. She thought that she should probably go for a one-piece but… Nah. She had nothing to be ashamed of. Instead she decided to forgo her pastels and go for a deep purple bikini in the shade of her hair and a black skirt wrap.

She could not _wait_ to show this to Ute.

The day was perfect. The air was hot, the sun was blinding, and the sky was a clear blue as far as the eye could see. It was like the world decided to do them a favour.

Ute's reaction was _very_ satisfying.

* * *

He heard the terrified gasp of his wife and immediately his blood froze.

"Did something happen to Shouji?" Of course his first thought was his kid.

"N-no, but… those children over there!"

"Huh?"

The man followed his wife's gaze. A few feet away was a group of teens, most of them middle-school age with a few older ones. At first, he could not see anything wrong with them – the tallest one looked vaguely familiar but the rest…

_Then_ he saw it. And he _really _felt his blood go cold.

_Now_ he recognized the tallest teen. Kurosaki Syun. Whose signature red scarf apparently served to hide that his throat had been _slit_ at one point, and the ugly pink jagged scar that miraculously did not kill him.

In what could only be morbid fascination, he observed each and every one of them. Kurosaki's ribs were showing, his left side was completely messed up, and he could make out several deep cuts and stabs all over his body, and burns over his arms.

The other teens were the same. The girl with the long hair had a horrific burn all over her legs and stomach, small cuts all over her arms, her back a total mess, and what looked like long slashes at her sides. He could even make out a long scar half-hidden by her top.

The boy that has playing with her – one who looked eerily like Sakaki Yuya – had deep gashes over his chest, cuts all over his arms, and what he was _certain_ were electroshock marks, more burns all over the place and bite marks at random places.

The other teen who was with them – one with blond and green hair – was not quite as bad, but he too had burns all over his body and his hands and feet were covered with deep gashes that must have caused him unimaginable pain, and quite a few still healing scratches across his chest and face.

The "kids", though they were probably thirteen or so, were in better condition, but that didn't stop them from having thin pink lines all over the places. At least there was nothing worse than that. The boy with the brown-red hair was a bit worse though – his and hands spoke of many, _many_ falls. The girl with the glasses also had a few burns in her hands, but those looked like they came from a cooking accident.

The only one who looked normal was the elementary school kid with the light blue hair, though he too was very skinny and pale, with deep black circles under his eyes.

He and his wife just stared at each other in pure disbelief.

"Do you… do you think they were in the war…?"

…

_This young?_

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"Your best friend and your sister are having a lot of fun there, Syun."

Syun glared half-heartedly at Allen. He had already heard every joke about "the most epic bro code breach ever" that could possibly be told.

Ruri and Ute looked happier than they had been in a very long time. They were running up and down in the shallow waters, throwing water at each other, roughhousing, playing tickling wars and exchanging the chaste kiss here and there, red in the face and not just from the physical activity.

Honestly, why couldn't anyone understand that the two were perfect for each other? Syun had spotted Ute's crush on Ruri since they first met. Besides, Syun trusted him.

"Why don't you go have fun with Sayaka? She'll probably need the help with _that_ thing." Sayaka was currently trying to build the base of what would surely be a sand castle of epic proportions. The base alone was big enough for her to lay one if she curled up, and she was clearly considering making it bigger.

Allen looked at it in mild surprise. "Geez. We'll be here all day with that."

"That's the plan" said Kaito with a soft smile. "How about you join them, Haruto?"

Kaito's little brother looked at him in confusion.

"Sayaka is building a really big sand castle there. You like sand castles, right?"

"Yeah! Let's go, Allen-san!" Allen could not argue with that, so he got up, took Haruto by the hand and went over to help Sayaka.

Kaito chuckled softly. "Well Syun, what's the plan?"

The taller teen shrugged. "Soak up the sun, maybe."

"Yeah, you look like death warmed over" said Kaito, poking fun at his pale complexion.

Now Syun glared at him too. "It's natural. And you're not much better yourself."

Kaito smiled, and reached at his bag.

Syun peeked at him curiously. "What do you have there?"

Kaito proudly revealed a brand new volley ball. "What about we have a go at it?"

Appealing to Syun's competitive nature was the best way to appease him. "You're on."

* * *

It was surreal, watching those kids. They looked – _terrifying,_ really – but they just acted like… perfectly normal teens. The black-haired boy acted like he hadn't even noticed the horrific burn his girlfriend had even as he blew a raspberry in her stomach, making her laugh and push him off.

Kurosaki Syun probably should not even be moving with those ribs but he was still taking part in a heated volley match against the other boy – who in turn probably should not be straining his hands like this. And the kids somehow did not look bothered in the slightest by the gory sight, nor by their own bad condition.

It was such a powerful contrast that the man felt humbled.

"They're _kids._"

Akaba Himika had told them about the war, but seeing proof of it…

"Mom, dad?"

They both snapped out of their trance. "What's up, Shouji?"

"Can I go play with the sandcastle?" And he pointed to the enormous sandcastle that those other kids were building.

He and his wife, once more, just stared at each other. He could tell that they were both thinking the same thing.

"Sure. Just don't wander too far, okay?"

"Okay!"

Maybe the scars were not all that important after all.

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**Omake**

"Hey, Haruto-kun?"

"Yeah, Shouji-kun?"

"What are those purple things around your eyes?"

Haruto looked at his new friend straight in the eyes. When he spoke, his voice was dead serious. "It's war paint."

"Huh?"

"Because I'm a pirate!"

"Huh!?"

"And now YOU'RE a pirate!"

"Yeah!"

"And this castle will be our fortress!"

"YEAAAH!"

"AND WE'LL TAKE OVER THIS BEACH!"

"_YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

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**Author notes: I was always wondering what kind of scars the members of the Resistance could have gathered over the course of the war. Believe me, none of these scars was random - I put a lot of thought in it, some from cannon events and some from my headcanons.**

**The idea here is that despite the war having marked their bodies, they're still able to move on, and just have an ordinary day at the beach.**

**Please review!**


	3. Day 6: Ray

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V**

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**Day 6: Ray**

She was the light of his life. She had a smile like the sun and her eyes sparkled like stars. She was the flame in the lighthouse that guided him through the dark ocean.

She was the one thing that fueled his drive. His only goal and his only reward. She was the only reason he had to exist.

All of this was for Ray's sake. Every person carded, every experiment performed, each sacrifice taken, was one little stone that would lay down the path that would lead him to her.

Akaba Leo wanted his sun to come back and spell away the clouds cast by that demon.

He wanted his Ray back.

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**Author note: Yes, this whole drabble is a pun.**


	4. Day 13: Superstition and Day 19: Failure

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V.**

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**Day 13: Superstition + Day 19: Failure**

The crystal orb _shattered_.

She tried to see into the future of the boy who beat her best student, and the globe _shattered._

She had never seen anything like this before.

Mieru's prophecy came to mind – how Sakaki Yuya would tread the path of victory but would be faced with a crushing defeat and disaster in his wake.

The orb in her hand had briefly glowed blue before a darkness overtook it and shattered it.

For the most part, the duel had gone the way Mieru predicted it, other than her loss. She knew her student. Mieru was not only a great duelist, but a great psychic. Experience had showed her that Mieru was never wrong, even if the true meanings of her readings and prophecies became apparent much after they were made.

And right now, she had a feeling that Mieru's prediction was not about the duel at all.

Mieru tended to jump into conclusions, after all. Just because she interpreted her reading as predicting the result of the duel, that did not mean this was actually the case.

Mieru began the duel by flipping a coin. One side was a demon, and the other was a dragon. The boy's will to become strong and overcome his problems led him to that choice, but…

The boy will be faced with a choice in his future that will affect his destiny. The second coin toss revealed as such. And then…

A great power surrounding him in a cloud of darkness… A cloud of darkness that appeared in the crystal ball…

The dragon in the middle. Once again, the boy was in a mysterious situation, filled with doubt.

The elephant on his far left. Great power. She had seen that with her own eyes.

The bird on his far right. Strong emotions and rising tensions.

The scorpion on his middle left. A treacherous, hidden obstacle.

And the snake on his middle right . A sign that this obstacle was wicked and cunning.

A huge failure awaited him, one that would drown him in darkness.

The Tower that appeared only confirmed it.

In the end, Sakaki Yuya called forth a mysterious power, a dragon born of magic, granted to him by mystical means; a dragon that answered his call much like the Pendulum had done in that duel just a few days ago.

The boy had the soul of a dragon, and dragons answered his call. He was surrounded by darkness and power, plagued by dilemmas and faced with insurmountable obstacles and treachery.

And then, his future would be no more.

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**Author note: You know, if you think about it, Mieru practically predicted the entire plot of the series during her duel with Yuya. To me at least, by the time the Synchro Dimension arc started, it was pretty obvious to me. So I wanted to write something about this for a while.**

**Please, read and review!**


	5. Day 21: Memorial

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V.**

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**Day 21: Memorial**

They set up a memorial for those who never made it out alive.

It was right in front of Heartland Tower – a collection of rusting beams taken from wreckage stabbed in the ground like swords, with the red scarves of the Resistance tying the broken duel disks at the top.

Not everyone was turned into a card. Some were never found.

So here it stood, as a memento of death, a small piece of the long and agonizing battle that they allowed themselves to keep in this beautiful city that tried to erase all of its scars.

There were always fresh flowers here. Cards. Pictures. Letters. If you looked hard enough, you might even find a note of someone apologizing.

It was a memorial dedicated to the fallen. They would live to see eternity.

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**Please, read and review. This complete lack of feedback is rather disheartening, truth be told.**


	6. Day 27: Xyz

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V.**

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**Day 27: Xyz**

People said that Xyz Summoning was the most beautiful of all.

It was as if someone had grasped a galaxy and put it on earth for everyone to admire. Its billions of little stars sparkled with thousands of colours, spinning around the black hole that was the center.

However, that black hole was not a pit, but a gate full of endless potential. It was like a gate to another world, where their souls would ascent and grasp new possibilities, reach new heights.

For Yuya, Xyz was rage. Xyz was sadness. And Xyz was a promise.

Each and every dragon that Xyz had to offer him, he awakened it while fueled by hatred. Every time he used them afterwards, he did it out of an oath. Yuya could hear those black-framed monsters with the orbs of light around them and they were _screaming_ at the injustice of it all.

Xyz was beauty beyond measure, and terror beyond comprehension. The galaxy and the black hole.

Xyz was vengeance.


End file.
